Place: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by coldriver:

4.13/5 rDev +1.7%vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4

Stop 2 on a San Francisco pubcrawl 7/17/2011. Gotta say being middle aged somewhat conservative Texans we were slightly apprehensive going in to this place. But this establishment is all about diversity and from that aspect we fit right in. With a table of bikers, a table of college kids, a table of tattoo exhibitionists, a table of lesbians, etc, the only thing missing was a table of middle-aged Texans and we were somewhat amazed to find the crowd to be very friendly and accepting.

Outdoor beer garden with picnic tables was a great place to enjoy the cool San Fran weather. A bit divy on the interior side but again a very comfortable vibe. Tap selection wasn't huge, but certainly adequate and nicely selected with plenty of the west coast hop bombs we'd come for. Wish we'd stayed longer instead of wasting our time in the touristy Fisherman's Wharf area - Zeitgeist seems like the quintessential San Francisco beer experience.

Decent tap list with better than usual SF prices. Atmosphere is not for everyone. Not the the most welcoming of SF beer bars...I get sick of surly doormen and waitresses and the hipster crowd in the back.

After a long morning walk through the streets of San Francisco, I found myself near the Toronado which wasn't opened yet, so I continued on a few more blocks to the Zeitgeist. I had actually heard about it online in an article about great dive bars in SF, and when I saw that they also served excellent beers, I decided to start my day here.

Really a cool place, black walls, long bar, games and a small kitchen in the back. And behind the bar is a door to the outside beer garden, which is large, with quite a few benches and turned out to be a great place to sip my beer while soaking up the great weather.

Quality and selection were both top notch. The beer board had a wide variety of excellent brews. I really liked how they list beers by style instead of brewery. I was looking for an IPA, and I noticed Double Tap from Berryessa, so I enjoyed a pint outside.

Service was fine. The bartenders and patrons were buzzing about a crack head lady that had just left right after I entered. But she acknowledged me fairly quickly, and served me.

Prices were slightly high, but not bad for SF.

Overall, this place was great. I definitely will come back. You have to love edgy grimy dive bars though to really appreciate this place.